De Republica Anglorum

Sir Thomas Smith (23 December 1513 – 12 August 1577) was an English writer and diplomat who was actively involved in religion while also holding positions such as provost and dean at schools like Eton College. He was an early convert to Protestantism at a time when Henry VIII was breaking from the Catholic Church, helping Smith gain prominence when Henry VIII’s son Edward VI succeeded him. He remained a secretary of state until Edward’s death brought the Henry VIII’s staunch Catholic daughter Mary to the throne, at which point Smith lost all his offices.

It was under Queen Elizabeth that Smith flourished, becoming a Member of Parliament, an ambassador to France, and a counselor to the Queen. In that time, Smith also wrote one of the most influential political philosophical texts in the Western world, De Republica Anglorum; the Manner of Government or Policie of the Realme of England, written between 1562 and 1565, and first published in 1583. Smith advocated a government comprising a mixed government of commonwealth and states. A mixed government integrates democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy, with some issues decided by the majority of the people, some other issues by few, and some other issues by a single person. England was able to manage such a system for awhile, but it was the idea of separation of powers that influenced writers like John Locke and Montesquieu, which in turn would influence Enlightenment thinkers and the United States’ Founding Fathers.

This edition of De Republica Anglorum; the Manner of Government or Policie of the Realme of England is specially formatted with a Table of Contents.